Data from: The influence of slavemaking lifestyle, caste and sex on chemical profiles in Temnothorax ants: insights into the evolution of cuticular hydrocarbons

Chemical communication is central for the formation and maintenance of
insect societies. Generally, social insects only allow nest-mates into
their colony, which are recognized by their cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs).
Social parasites, which exploit insect societies, are selected to
circumvent host recognition. Here, we studied whether chemical strategies
to reduce recognition evolved convergently in slavemaking ants, and
whether they extend to workers, queens and males alike. We studied CHCs of
three social parasites and their related hosts to investigate whether the
parasitic lifestyle selects for specific chemical traits that reduce host
recognition. Slavemaker profiles were characterized by shorter-chained
hydrocarbons and a shift from methyl-branched alkanes to n-alkanes,
presumably to reduce recognition cue quantity. These shifts were
consistent across independent origins of slavery and were found in
isolated ants and those emerging in their mother colony. Lifestyle
influenced profiles of workers most profoundly, with little effect on
virgin queen profiles. We detected an across-species caste signal, with
workers, for which nest-mate recognition is particularly important,
carrying more and longer-chained hydrocarbons and males exhibiting a
larger fraction of n-alkanes. This comprehensive study of CHCs across
castes and species reveals how lifestyle-specific selection can result in
convergent evolution of chemical phenotypes.